How do I clear a Payroll Liability amount in the Payroll Center?

Hi there, Number5.

I'd be happy to help you clear your Payroll Liability.

The most likely reason why it doesn't clear after you create the custom payment is that the Date and Period (From and To dates) of these transactions don't match. That said, I would recommend that you review the Liability Check and make the necessary changes.

A quick and easy way to do this is to find it in the Payment History, since you've found it in here, and double-click it to open the transaction. Apply the changes and make sure it's Date and Period matches then hit Save & Close. For additional insight about this, you can visit this article: Set up and pay scheduled or custom (unscheduled) liabilities

Let me know how it goes on your end, I want to make sure you're taken care of. Thanks for reaching out, wishing you all the best!

For reference, the "period" date ranges is Paycheck Dates inclusive. If you pay in Jan for all of Dec paychecks, the Period on the Liability check needs to show Dec 1-31. Not overlapping before or after. That's how the system keeps track of what got paid for which cycle. Or, for instance, if there is One Monthly paycheck dated the 5th of the month, then the Liability Period date can even be Dec 5-Dec 5.

Hi AldrinS,

I've double checked the pay periods and everything is correct.  However, I noticed the pay period showing on the the Liability is 12/29/18 - 1/4/19.  This is the case with payroll I did yesterday.  The pay period is correct on all pay checks but if I check on the Simple IRA Liability, it shows the pay period as 12/29/18 - 1/4/19 not matter what the check pay period is.  

Again, I'm not sure it I did something but this only started happening with the Dec 31, 2018 payroll.  I can't seem to change the date within the liability screen.

Again, any assistance is greatly appreciated.

Diana

qbteachmt,

It was the final monthly check that started all this.  I do have the dates as 12/31/18 - 12/31/18.  But the liability to be paid is showing the pay period as 12/29/18 - 1/4/19 and I don't know why.  I can not change the date on the liability side and since this pay period did not go into Jan of 2019, I've very concerned about matching this date.  

I did match the dates for the other payroll in 2019 and it did clear it.  However, the dates on the liability pay period does not match the actual pay period.  Since everything in my being tells me something is wrong, I need to get this fixed before we get to far into 2019.

Thanks for your assistance,

Hello there, @Number5.

Allow me to join the conversation. I’d like to share some information about your paid payroll liability showing on the Pay Taxes and Other Liabilities screen.

I appreciate your efforts in trying out the given solution above. Since you are still having the same problem after making sure the dates are correct, you may need to delete your liability payment and start from the beginning.

Here’s how:
1.    Go to the Pay Liabilities tab.
2.    From the Payment History screen, click the transactions.
3.    Click Delete on the top of the screen and hit OK to delete the payment.

Once done, download the latest payroll tax table. To do that, follow the steps below:
1.    Go to Employees menu and select Get Payroll Updates.
2.    Put a check in the Download Entire Update checkbox.
3.    Select Download Latest Update.
4.    A window appears when the download is complete.

Now, please go back to the Pay Liabilities screen. Let’s pay the liability for Simple IRA showing on the Pay Taxes & Other Liabilities section instead of creating a custom payment. 
Here’s how:
1.    Select Simple IRA from the list of payment under the Pay Taxes & Other Liabilities section. 
2.    Click the View/Pay button.
3.    Review the information showing on the Liability Payment screen or make necessary changes.
4.    Hit Save & Close to finish.

If it’s still showing as overdue after making the payment, take a look at this article for other solutions that fits your issue: Scheduled liabilities show as overdue or in red.

That should do it. Please give this a try and let me know how it goes. If there’s anything else you need, leave a reply below. I’m more than happy to help. Take care and have a great day!

Hi KhimG,

I was able to clear all but the December liability off the pay liabilities so they no longer show past due.  And it will clear the December liability if I match the dates. However, this was a 2018 liability and the liability was paid in 2018. 

I did attempt your solution to delete the payment and them repaying it.  But the liability remained.  Are you suggesting I delete the actual pay check?  I know that is a complicated process as I had a big mess when someone lost their paycheck.

At this point, I need someone to confirm that if I enter the dates as listed on the liability of 12/28/18 - 1/4/19 there won't be any issues as to when the actual Simple IRA benefit was received by the employee.  Their W-2's have already been issued and it was included on it.

I would like to also correct what ever the issue is that is causing the liability dates to be different than the pay period dates.  I understand that liabilities are due when the pay check is cut but shouldn't the liability dates still match up with the pay period? We have started paying a week behind in preparation to move to direct deposit.  I'm not an accountant so not sure how the actually accounting aspect of these entries work.

Thanks again for everyone's feed back,

This would be an Error: "At this point, I need someone to confirm that if I enter the dates as listed on the liability of 12/28/18 - 1/4/19"

Start with the Actual Paycheck Date. A Paycheck in 2019 is Not Combined with paycheck amounts from 2018. That Liability Period should never overlap a Month, Quarter or Year end, depending on the Liability. So, for instance, SIMPLE IRA cannot Overlap 2018 and into 2019.

This doesn't affect W2; it is the Payment of the accrued liability. It is the Banking.

A Liability for 2018 paid in 2018 need to show "Period" for the date range of the Paychecks, and that is in 2018, for your specific example.

Here: FUTA for all of 2018 might not need to be paid until you file the 940, and you pay it on Jan 25. The Liability PERIOD is for Jan 1-Dec 31, 2018. That Banking date is Jan 25, 2019.

Never overlap PERIOD for Liability.

"I would like to also correct what ever the issue is that is causing the liability dates to be different than the pay period dates."

That is Your Misunderstanding. That is not what Liability Period ever means.

"I understand that liabilities are due when the pay check is cut but shouldn't the liability dates still match up with the pay period?"

No. It is matched to the Banking event = when Paychecks were issued, Because the Taxes related to the fact that someone Got Paid. Not when they worked or how many dates are included in the pay period. It's based on Paycheck Date. Not Pay Period.

"We have started paying a week behind in preparation to move to direct deposit.  I'm not an accountant so not sure how the actually accounting aspect of these entries work."

Example:

You pay monthly by the 5th for the Pay Period of dates worked in the prior month. That means:

I work in Dec. You pay me in Jan. That is the First Check of the new year. Liability Period is Jan 5, 2019-Jan 5, 2019 for any Liability that is based on Monthly; or Jan 1-Jan 31, 2019 is the Same Concept. There was the one paydate = Jan 5. For a Quarterly Liability, this is Q1 of 2019.

Never delete any Paychecks; that won't solve anything and will just make things Worse.

Good morning qbteachmt,

With regards to your comment "This would be an Error" in responce to my "At this point, I need someone to confirm that if I enter the dates as listed on the liability of 12/28/18 - 1/4/19." it totally agree.

However, this date is being genterated from somewhere and I can't seem to change it.  The paycheck was cut on 12/28/18 with a check date of 12/31/18.  The SIMPLE IRA was paid on 12/28/18 with a clear date of 12/31/18.  No where on anything I entered has a 2019 date.  It should not have a 2019 date but it does.  As you can see, this is my problem. 

All your other comments are appreciated and understood.

Thanks again for all the assistance with this issue.

"However, this date is being genterated from somewhere and I can't seem to change it."

If you sent an electronic payment, you cannot change it. Otherwise, you control this by the Selection, either in the Pay Liabilities or in the Create Custom Liabilities. That indicate you created the payment by bracketing Pay Dates of 12/28/2018-1/4/2019, an error. This results in a number of things:

The program is confused about the Final Payment for the year, because it overlaps to 2019. The First payment of the year for a paydate that is Jan 1-4 is also confused with a liability check spanning into the Prior period. That means the reporting on both sides of the Year End are confused by "not seeing a properly paid period liability."

"The paycheck was cut on 12/28/18 with a check date of 12/31/18."

All that ever matters is the Paycheck Date. In the US, we are under "Constructive Receipt." This means, when Money is paid to employees, that paydate is also when the Tax Due Date Liability bomb starts ticking. Everyone wants their share of taxes and the employer has all fiduciary responsibilities because there is A Paydate.

 "The SIMPLE IRA was paid on 12/28/18 with a clear date of 12/31/18."

"Clear" date is meaningless to your perspective. That is the Bank's processing date. All you care about is that it got processed and for the right amount. That date is not used by you for anything in the bookkeeping.

"No where on anything I entered has a 2019 date."

Yes, you told us it is in the "period" range on the Period field of this Liability check. You told us you see Jan 4, 2019.

"It should not have a 2019 date but it does.  As you can see, this is my problem."

If you use Create Custom Liability Payments, and you selected that date range, then you got any Jan 2019 paycheck that existed, in that payment.

You can always fix this. But you should confirm with the Brokerage that they processed the payment properly. Example:

If you accidentally got that date range, but have No Paycheck from Jan 1-4, then you can Change the Liability check or even recreate it with the Right Date Range on it. It is a simply matter to do a Mini-Reconcile on the banking to rereconcile it for replacing a transaction.

If that does include 2019 paycheck amounts, you need to Split that into 2 Pay Liabilities, and then do the mini-rec. This is when you need to confirm the Brokerage knows how to Split the amounts, for proper year, as well.